Currently, small brachytherapy seeds are placed at defined intervals along a suture strand and placed into the prostate to treat a patient with prostate cancer. Several rows of seeds are typically implanted and several strands of seeds are used per row. An example of such a device is the RAPID Strand™ suture available from Oncura Inc., Arlington Heights, Ill., which is described as an absorbable braided suture containing 10 evenly spaced oncology radioactive seeds (Iodine-125). See also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,761,680, 6,997,862 and 7,211,039, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein. The brachytherapy strands of seeds are typically used for treating prostate cancer but can be used to treat other cancers as well.
Despite the foregoing, there remains a need for improved brachytherapy strands and/or delivery systems that can allow for one or more of: identification, removal, and/or redeployment of improperly positioned brachytherapy seeds.